Descendants of Tongan Chief Maile Latamai in Nadroga, Fiji ^Featured

I was invited to join a group of men and women who frolicked in the cool Sigatoka River.

Considering the mid-morning heat, the offer was tempting but not enough to distract me from the site that I was headed for kilometres ahead on this dusty road in the heart of Fiji's agriculture sector.

Nothing, not even the allure of a dip in the cool river was going to come between me and a trip to one of Nadroga's most memorable spots, the centuries old Tavuni Hill Fort.

Earlier in my walk, I had passed a large group of women and a few men from the area who had been harvesting mussels, using their feet to detect them in a method known throughout Fiji as sili kai or in the local dialect as riu tave.

The heat of the Sigatoka sun bore down on me and I was sorely tempted to join them but persevered. Eventually, I passed Naroro Village before climbing the hill where the fort is located.

Reaching the shady entrance to the historical site brought much respite but there was still more climbing ahead.

Tavuni is the best preserved old fort in Fiji and unlike Molituva Tribal Fort in eastern Viti Levu, nothing has been touched at the site other than the inclusion of benches, walkways and railings to guide visitors.

It is located 90 metres high on a limestone ridge roughly four kilometres away from Sigatoka Town.

Although the relics of this ancient village lie prone to the elements, being at the site allows one to imagine what it was probably like in the days of old, when cannibalism and incessant tribal warfare were the norm.

Tavuni is also the result of a Tongan movement into the Sigatoka coastline area, ending in successive generations of people with Tongan bloodlines who reside in three villages within the province.

Oral accounts point to a chieftain named Maile Latamai leaving Tonga after a dispute in the reigning Tuipelehaki family.

No one really knows for sure when he did actually arrive but historians and archeologists place it at around 1800.

He apparently set sail for Fiji with his own entourage of servants including his spokesman, (matanivanua), priests (bete), warriors (liganiwau), carpenters and craftsmen (mataisau) and fishermen (gonedau).

According to stories passed down over time, Latamai initially stopped at Kadavu and Serua and sent his gonedau out to fish but they were left behind after hasty departures from these places.

The Tongan chieftain eventually landed at Korotogo and subsequently travelled inland to Tavuni where he built a formidable fort to guard himself against the fierce tribes of Nadroga and Navosa.

The fort, according to village lore, was not immediately established as constant tribal warfare kept the Tongans on the move.

After leaving some of his followers and family to occupy Yanuca and Cuvu along with Korotogo, he finally returned to Tavuni where he buried the hatchet with nearby tribes and had some land given to him.

These lands are now occupied by the descendents of Latamai, who belong to the Yavusa Noitoga.

In 1876, Tavuni, which was ruled under the reigning Noitoga chief Kunatui, was stormed and destroyed by government troops.

This was a result of a so-called rebellion by the chiefs of the interior of Viti Levu known as the kai colo, who had seen the measles epidemic of 1875 as an attempt by the Colonial powers and their traditional enemies to destroy them.

The kai colo people had never really accepted the lotu, or Christianity that had been spreading throughout the land at the acceptance of the Vunivalu of Bau, Ratu Seru Cakobau.

This was at the heart of enmity between the kai colo and the Cakobau-backed government troops, which resulted in Tavuni being destroyed.

It would take at least well over 100 years before archeologists and local villagers collaborated to bring Tavuni back to life.

As I walked around the lofty upper reaches of this fortified ancient site, I imagined the place bustling with life in its heyday.

I came across the braining stone or vatu ni bokola, which has been spilt in recent years as a result of exposure to the elements.

"Whatever we tell visitors to this place is whatever has been related to us by our forefathers," said Miriama Vidovi, a member of the Yavusa Noitoga of nearby Naroro Village , and 10th generation descendent of Maile Latamai.

Vidovi's late father, Ratu Viliame Vidovi — a former head of the yavusa — worked closely with the Fiji Museum to establish the old hill fort as a tourism attraction in the mid-1990s.

"My father used to go back and forth to Tonga all the time. He always kept in touch with our relations from Tonga," she said.

Vidovi explained her ancestor had married a woman from Narata who bore him a daughter named Tupou from whose line are the Mataqali Senibua of Malevu and Naroro villages.

The old site was shady with a profusion of trees such as vaivai and nokonoko along with an abundance of fruit trees including a variety of moli, a large ivi (Tahitian chestnut) tree and curtain fig trees.

There was clearly house mounds (yavu) with stone facings where some bure had once stood and the largest of these was were levu (literally big house), the remains of which are at Tavuni for all to see.

Al together there are 56 seperate yavu on the site, confirming that this was a pretty large village for that time.

There were also giant boulders lying everywhere and some wedged in between tree roots and lining the sides of ancient house mounds.

It is said that large boulders were laboriously hauled up the site by the Tavuni people and kept there to be let loose on enemies when they tried to attack the fort.

I stumbled toward an upright stone that sat in the middle of a small grass clearing and realised I was looking at the kalou vatu, an upright stone used as a shrine of a god in the days of old at Tavuni.

Scattered all around much of the site were the remains of old sea shells, which were obviously consumed in large quantities by the Tavuni people in the olden days.

I also saw pottery shards close to an upright stone in the centre of a house mound.

Interestingly, Laselase Village, which is only a few kilometres away from Tavuni, is one of the few areas in Fiji where old pottery styles are still replicated by womenfolk.

Further on in my tour on reaching Maile Latamai's lookout, I was presented with a panoramic view of the Sigatoka valley with the Sigatoka River snaking its way forward to the hills in the background.

Maile Latamai's actual burial site can be seen from this vantage point on Serua Hill.

Latamai's second wife, from Nadrala Village would result in another line of descendants from the Mataqali Matanisiga at Nawamagi, a village further up the valley from Naroro.

"When he used to go to Tonga he used to go right up to the big house (royal family). He used to go there to confirm our relationship with the royal family," said Vidovi.

To this day, mataqali Noitoga people of Naroro, along with their relatives from Nawamagi and Malevu further down the coastline, have certain customary practices unique to Tonga.

"We are using our own sacred sites for tourism purposes but we have not touched anything at the place," said Vidovi.

Alipate Ulunisau, 71, of Mataqali Senibua of Naroro said the unique history of Tavuni was passed down by oral traditions over the centuries through successive generations.

"We were lucky to have these stories passed down from our forefathers. Otherwise we would not have an idea of what exactly happened," said Ulunisau.

Naroro, like Nawamagi, is largely an agricultural-based village with most relying on cash crops like papayas, cassava and tomatoes.

The Tongan connection at Naroro is still strong with names like Salote Tupou, Sione, Isileli and Maile, and Taufa commonly used names in the village.

"My eldest sister's name is Salote Tupou, my wife is called Salote Tupou and my granddaughter is also called by that name," explained Ulunisau.

The Naroro native said they also refrain from using tabua because it was not a Tongan tradition to do so.

At Malevu, turaga ni koro Wame Bui Naqasima said they were always proud of their Tongan heritage.

"Over here we are now trying to educate the younger generations about where we originated from," explained Naqasima.

"All of the older generations of villagers are now passing on and we need to make sure that knowledge is not lost," he said.

The majority of people at Malevu rely on the tourism industry, with many employed at nearby hotels and resorts.

"We have formed the Noitoga Rugby Club so that it's another way to expose our heritage. It's important that people know of our Tongan identity," he said.

Naqasima said his ancestor Maile Latemai was a powerful warrior who was no way intimidated by the ferocious tribes which lived in the Sigatoka area when he arrived.

"He came through this way to Tavuni and made sure his warriors established settlements at Waicoba in the upper valley region and Vunamoli, near Nadi," he said.

"My ancestor was a clever man and he knew enemies would first have to pass through these settlements before they could reach Tavuni," he said.

Another Malevu elder, Sakiusa Nawakai Nailiku, 70, said most people in the provinces of Nadroga and Navosa knew about their Tongan links, although many were surprised about certain customs they still held fast to.

"During functions like funerals when we wear the taovala, sometimes people think we are from Lau. They are surprised when we explain that we are from Nadroga," said Nailiku.

Naqasima said it was not uncommon to get a message from Tonga during a particular function.

"In Tonga they know who we are," he said. "Whenever a chief in Tonga dies they normally send a message across for us to go and attend the funeral so a delegation from here usually goes."

While there has always been traditional links between the two countries has existed for centuries, many are unaware of the unique history of Sigatoka's coastline.

The history is ultimately linked with one of Fiji's most memorable historical sites in Tavuni.

The thriving community of people with distinct Tongan bloodlines and culture in the Sigatoka area is testament to the courage and leadership of Maile Latamai.

Latamai's bold move to the shores of Nadroga has certainly added colour to the history of the province of Nadroga.His legacy lives on in the people of Noitoga who live in the villages of Malevu, Naroro and Nawamagi to this day.